


catharsis

by 4wholecats



Series: Whumptober 2020 [11]
Category: Fire Emblem Heroes, Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: Seisen no Keifu | Fire Emblem: Genealogy of the Holy War
Genre: Finn reunites with Quan and Ethlyn in Askr and has a good cry about it, Gen, Whumptober 2020, prompt: crying
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-27
Updated: 2020-10-27
Packaged: 2021-03-08 19:02:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 465
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27231676
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/4wholecats/pseuds/4wholecats
Summary: Finn’s muscles hurt. They ache, as if he had been slapped a hundred times over. Lady Ethlyn’s hands have done no such thing, but the gentle touch of her palms against his cheeks makes his head pound and vision swim as badly as any injury would. He feels as if he had been kicked by a horse.
Relationships: Cian | Quan/Ethlyn
Series: Whumptober 2020 [11]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1959316
Comments: 4
Kudos: 29





	catharsis

**Author's Note:**

> another one not in the spirit of whumptober but FINN DESERVES NICE THINGS, I THINK,

“Ethlyn, stop it. He’s pulling a face; he doesn’t like it when you do that.”

Finn’s muscles hurt. They ache, as if he had been slapped a hundred times over. Lady Ethlyn’s hands have done no such thing, but the gentle touch of her palms against his cheeks makes his head pound and vision swim as badly as any injury would. He feels as if he had been kicked by a horse. 

There’s an angry, red-hot pressure behind his eyes as she withdraws her hands. She clasps them in front of her chest, as if prepared to reach towards him again at a moment’s notice, and doesn’t back away, even as her husband catches up to where the two stand in the hallway.

“Finn! Naga’s name, you got tall-” Quan slides past Ethlyn to give Finn a friendly, one-armed hug. The kind that Finn remembered he would give to Sigurd back in the army. Quan is right; Finn  _ has _ gotten tall. He stares at the top of Quan’s head, nearly a foot below eye-level. The man is exactly like Finn remembers him; same boyish haircut and dark clothing, as well as Quan’s trademark half-grin that only his closest friends were privileged enough to see. 

Finn’s eye begins to twitch, and as Quan releases him, he brings a hand to his face. He rubs his knuckle into the socket as something heavy stirs in his gut; a beast awoken from a decade long slumber. 

“Leif told us where to find you, so we thought we would come and say hello,” Quan continues, blissfully unaware that his former student looks nearly ready to collapse in front of him. “It’s been a long time… I hope you’ll fill us in on everything we missed.”

Ethlyn is quicker than her husband. Always has been.

“Finn?” She stares him in the eyes. “Finn… are you alright dear?”

She reaches out for him again, and something… breaks. A strained gasping noise escapes his mouth. His vision goes blurry. There’s something wet on his face.

“Oh… honey… come here,” Ethlyn steps forward and wraps her arms around him. She’s warm, and her hand rubs small circles on his back. She’s so close and indisputably alive. Finn’s breaths have turned into strangled gasps, competing with each other in an attempt to escape. 

“Whoa, hey… we missed you too.” Finn doesn’t know when he started leaning on Quan for support, but he sniffles into the other man’s shoulder regardless. “Why don’t we… why don’t we find somewhere to sit down, yeah? We have a lot of catching up to do...”

Finn nods, words failing him as Ethlyn wipes some of his tears away with the end of her scarf. 

For the first time in many, many years, joy dares to settle in his heart. 


End file.
